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Notes In Observance – TNA Impact Wrestling 3/29/16: A Cemented Legacy

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 3/29/16)

A Cemented Legacy

– With TNA suddenly donning Drew Galloway as their new World Heavyweight Champion, some may disagree based off how the product had freshened thanks to Matt Hardy’s new “Iconic” heel character, but if anyone would win it from him, Galloway was a fine option. It appears that Galloway’s primed for a top run and this could be the start of something good. The opening video highlighted the happenings of the previous week’s #1 Contender’s gauntlet match, as Jeff Hardy outlasted his brother to the end, becoming the first guy to take on Galloway for the Title, which’d happen later this show.

– The opening segment with The Matt Hardy Brand (Matt, Reby, Tyrus, Rockstar Spud), Ethan Carter III, Maria and The Miracle was interesting for what it was. It made sense for Matt to want to protest last week’s match and get his rightfully owed rematch. Miracle got to shine on the mic and showed he could hang in the big picture. Maria and Reby had their randomly entertaining argument, while Miracle and Matt also disagreed with their perspectives. EC3 was a tad bit cutesy with his comedic prayer lines, he’s lost some “edge” despite being touted as an “Ass-Kicking Machine.” At the least, it set up the match to follow – MH Brand vs. EC3 in a four-on-one handicap match.

– The EC3-MH Brand four-on-one handicap match was alright action. Miracle/Maria stood off on ringside, so we held up our guard initially. EC3 looked good in that he fought off the other people in the match. Reby being there was a bit of a surprising element, though she added nothing more than casual slaps. The DQ finish wasn’t a shock, but was a decent lead-in for TNA World Tag Team Champions Beer Money to make the save and propose yet another match after the break – a six-man.

– The six-man tag between EC3/BM and Miracle/Tyrus/Matt Hardy had the unfortunate task of being a continued third segment off the first one, with the feeling of things being dragged out, but this was the better match, more for the purpose of advancing the Miracle-EC3 feud, as EC3 chased away Miracle during the match. The finish solidly put the heels over, as Matt/Tyrus escaped a near-loss and cleanly put BM away.

– After sitting through Maria giving up her Knockouts Championship Title shot to whichever member of The Dollhouse won a match with all of them the previous week, we now had Knockouts Champion Gail Kim give a backstage promo putting over her desire to face Maria and how she did some “talking of her own” to spawn a new #1 Contender’s match between Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne. So, do we ignore Jade as the #1 contender?

– The Bro-Mans are back and they’re kind of just there. With TNA’s tag team division heading down into desperation mode, it’s not the worst idea, but it doesn’t get us excited either. It might be good for Jessie Godderz in terms of character, but with Robbie E looked at in a different, more serious light back when the World Title Series was a thing, it feels like a disappointing step back for him. The backstage segment with Bro-Mans and Eli Drake was just a way to establish some heat between Drake and Godderz, with Robbie in the middle, voicing his dislike for Jessie.

– The Knockouts Championship #1 Contender’s match between Sky and Rayne was decent at best, giving us an “even” battle, but one that nobody probably cared about. The close finish was the most notable moment, as Sky almost got the win to get caught in a match-ending bridge pin, for Rayne to get the nod. The post-match angle was just a tease of the friends fighting for them to hug it out. Anticlimactic and unsure of what happens. Are we getting a Kim-Jade-Rayne three-way for the Title?

– Galloway’s backstage promo did a solid job of hyping the main event with Jeff Hardy, talking it up as a chance to cement his own legacy by beating what he considered the “absolute best” in Jeff Hardy and he was determined to do so. Short and effective.

– One of the show’s highlights was the Pope-Lashley in-ring segment, that carried off their recent interactions. Pope looked poised and amped on the mic, calling out Lashley for giving him conflicting feelings of wanting to get back in the ring. The exchange was quite entertaining, as Lashley gave him several chances to leave the ring while putting himself over as the guy who “eliminated Kurt Angle.” Pope stood his ground and looked super tough in that he hit the first shot and it led to a classic TNA brawl. The best part of it was Pope doing his top rope crossbody onto the floor. Does this mean that Pope will be back in the ring full-time or is this a one-off feud?

– Jeff’s backstage promo hyped the main event from his end, putting Galloway over as a “lion,” but saying he was also ready for the challenge. Easy, basic stuff. Give it to TNA, they know how to build up their main event matches.

– Matt’s backstage promo told us that he was severely dissatisfied with the main event and didn’t care what’d happen, but he’d be involved in the equation no matter what because he always won. This maybe made us guess for a Matt interference in the main event?

– The Eric Young/Bram-Bro-Mans match was as expected, furthering the storyline of a foreshadowed split between Young/Bram as EY directed slight aggression towards his partner based on last week’s turnabouts before getting interrupted by Bro-Mans, who felt the need to challenge them, for sanity’s sake. At least the finish was helpful to the split storyline with Young/Bram accidentally hitting one another leading to a Bro-Mans win to reestablish their return.

– Al Snow certainly wasn’t on our list of current heels, but there was something redeemable about his luring ambush on both Grado and Mahabali Shera backstage, almost Hitman-esque. Liked the little detail of Snow beating Grado’s hand with a lead pipe, helping him come across more sympathetic here. Snow could help get Grado over and his assumed onscreen status of being a backstage agent with an attitude change provides a different yet simple storyline of him feeling like Grado simply doesn’t belong.

– With Davey Richards out of the equation, at least they’re keeping Eddie Edwards in the fold storyline-wise. After a seemingly one-sided feud with Decay, he appears to be in a bind with Gregory Shane Helms, who offered to team with him for their Tag Team Title rematch clause. It was certainly random for GSH’s character, since he was well-established as the heel mentor of TNA X-Division Champion Trevor Lee, who simply looked at Edwards angrily. It works for GSH because he put over his own abilities of being past Tag Team Champions elsewhere, yet it had a wrinkle of intrigue since you wonder what Edwards will do next week when he answer’s GSH’s proposal. With Bobby Roode on the outs of TNA, we know BM won’t be keeping the belts for long. Will this actually lead to Edwards/GSH winning the belts only for them to be used as a stepping stone to an Edwards/Lee feud for the X-Division? They could also have the same feuds without the Tag belts, but it’s unique.

– The Pope’s backstage promo expressed slight satisfaction of getting his hands on Lashley, but not in the most ideal of circumstances. This hyped a confrontation for the next week, one-on-one with no security. An actual match? Alrighty.

– Given the proper buildup, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between Galloway and Jeff felt even bigger than it actually was. The match itself was good, but ended before it could reach “great” territory. Undoubtedly, the highlight was Jeff’s Swanton Bomb to the outside on Galloway laid out on the steel steps, only to land on his knees up, giving us the big bump that led to Jeff’s downfall. It told the all-match story of Jeff giving up his own body while Galloway was right there to counter everything thrown at him. Liked how the Future Shock DDT was actually the match-ender. Post-match saw Matt formally challenge Galloway to the rematch, while Bram/Young attacked Galloway from behind, then attacking Jeff, before the faces cleared the heels from the ring and Jeff challenged Young to a Six Sides Of Steel match for the “Revenge” show. Kept things rolling right along.

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About Nicholas Jason Lopez

Just a 25 year-old Brooklynite. Nothing more, nothing less.
Currently Freelancing for The Bensonhurst Bean website in Brooklyn, he has also been published on sites such as Review Fix, College University of New York Athletic Conference, Dying Scene, Brooklyn News Service, All Media NY, BrooklynFans.com and Yahoo Voices.
He has also interned for The Home Reporter/Brooklyn Spectator based out of Brooklyn, NY.